


The New Rule

by AZGirl



Series: Hart of the Matter [5]
Category: NCIS
Genre: Angst, Episode: s07e24 Rule Fifty-One
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:34:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28018578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AZGirl/pseuds/AZGirl
Summary: A new rule. A lesson learned. A decision made. Tag to 7.24 Rule Fifty-one.
Series: Hart of the Matter [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2013751
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	The New Rule

**Author's Note:**

> This is the last of five episode tags from season 7 relating to M. Allison Hart episodes that I'm just now getting around to posting on this site. It's not necessary to read the others to understand this one, though knowledge about the season in general will be helpful.

**ooooooo**

**Chapter Five: The New Rule**

_#51 Sometimes – you’re wrong_.

Lost in thought over everything that had happened recently, he almost didn’t hear the ringing of his cell phone until it was too late.

“Yeah, Gibbs.”

“Boss,” Tony began, but was cut off by Gibbs.

“I know. I’ll be there soon.”

“Boss?” Tony replied confused, then quickly realized the mistake. “No. I saw Franks.”

“Franks?” Gibbs couldn’t believe it. “Is he okay?”

“You mean besides the bloody stump on his hand?” Tony said sarcastically before sobering his tone. “He seemed more than okay to me.”

“Where?”

“Vance had me following Rivera – observe and report only. From out of nowhere Franks grabs me and says he’d take it from there. He had a gun and…”

“And?”

“He said he could pull the trigger with his thumb and then started after Rivera.”

Something in Tony’s voice alerted him that there was more to it, and that it was more than likely bad. He waited for DiNozzo to continue.

“For whatever reason I just let him go, and by the time I’d gotten my head back into the game, they were both gone – lost in the crowds.”

Gibbs could hear the apology in Tony’s voice and made sure his voice sounded calm in return. “Check in with Vance, then head over here. We have to talk.”

He hung up his phone and placed it back into his suit pocket. Someday, he hoped Ziva would understand why he and Tony had not made it to her citizenship ceremony. Besides, depending on how his talk went with DiNozzo, then perhaps they’d still be able to make it to dinner later with the team.

Picking up the box that he’d laid upon the bed when he’d answered his phone, he began once again to sort through its contents. But, his eyes continued to stray to the new rule he’d written down not too long ago.

_#51 Sometimes – you’re wrong_.All these years, he’d been so determined to follow his rules to the letter that he’d lost sight of the possibility that maybe, just maybe, some of them could possibly be flawed.

Case in point was _Rule 13:_ _Never ever involve lawyers_. While Rule 13 would normally apply to every other lawyer he’d ever met, apparently M. Allison Hart was its one exception. Granted, she’d been working for Bell, but she’d proven to be something else – a friend? an ally? – by taking possession of Abby’s forensic report. She’d even given him the benefit of the doubt to a certain degree over Hernandez’s murder.

In short, he’d been wrong about her.

And now it seemed appropriate that he’d memorialized this lesson he’d finally learned on the same scrap of paper upon which Rule 13 had originally been written.

_#51 Sometimes – you’re wrong_.

He needed to tell Tony everything. Recently, he’d kept his distance from Tony and kept his own counsel in order to protect his agent and friend. Now he felt the time was right to tell Tony about what he’d done all those years ago, how it had led to Hart, and how that had all eventually led to this new rule.

Besides him, Tony and Abby seemed to know all his rules by heart. God only knew how as he didn’t even remember telling them all the rules, preferring they learn them as various situations brought them to light. It was only fitting that at least one of them was the first to learn the new rule.

_#51 Sometimes – you’re wrong_.

Tony especially deserved to be made aware of it first given all they gone through together in relation to Hart. It was the least he could do for a friend who had stood by him no matter what and had watched his six all these years. Gibbs just hoped Tony would still stand by him once he’d learned the whole truth. His gut was telling him that Tony would, but—

_#51 Sometimes – you’re wrong_.

ooooooo

_The end._

**ooooooo**

**Author's Note:**

> More of my older NCIS stories are coming, plus some older Hawaii Five-0 ones. 
> 
> Many thanks to Celticgal1041 for proofing. Any remaining mistakes are my fault. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> *Please do not repost or use this or any of my other works on another site or app without my knowledge or consent. FanFiction and Archive of Our Own are the only two sites (as AZGirl on both) where my fiction should be posted. Thank you!


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